


Uncontrolled Mosaic

by AllTheFeels



Series: Compass Rose [4]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, Ft. more mapping terms as titles, Hurt/Comfort, I feel kinda bad for not tagging Tao but he never gets brought up, I just feel like I've put him in the corner and ignored him, I'm sorry child, M/M, Part of a series but can be read as a stand alone fic, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, There are soulmate compasses that hurt the first time they move, as one fic rec put it "soulmate AU meshed with canon verse", rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-22 10:06:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6075204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheFeels/pseuds/AllTheFeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Statistically, it's unlikely that his compass would move during a concert, but realistically? Sehun's luck is just that bad.</p><p>(The compasses are soulmate marks, appearing at birth and disappearing at death. This shouldn’t be as complex as it is--- they should just move in the presence of the person’s soulmate, but no. They come with quirks.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stereoscope

**Author's Note:**

> A BRUSH UP ON THE COMPASS AU:  
> Everyone is born with a compass on their wrist, which will remain pointing North until, essentially, whenever the compass feels like moving, at which point the pain is typically enough that soulmates will find each other through crying out. As an Idol, you are expected to cover your compass, especially if it is pointing towards somebody you are seen with frequently.

It was a stroke of pure luck that he was able to get offstage in time, spurred on by the little voice in the back of Sehun’s head that felt the start of the disorientation and whispered,  _ “Run.”  _

 

It had been fine. There had been seconds left in the concert, mere moments really, then his limbs had become sluggish. Sehun had stared down at the palms of his hands, blinking in confusion, then slowly pressed his fingers into his wrist. When pain blossomed beneath his skin, the drunken mentality broke for just a moment--- just enough time for him to turn and sprint. Not enough time, however, for him to catch himself and unplug his microphone. 

 

_ God, god, why now? _

 

Once backstage, he holds up a hand, trying to keep the staff at bay as he looks around. The world is blurring in a sickening way, colors too bright and shapes waving. One girl’s hands close around a water bottle, moving forward as if to give it to him, and Sehun’s hands begin to shake. Perhaps, maybe by some miracle, his compass wasn’t going to move. Perhaps that damned soulmate mark would remain as immobile as it always had, perhaps he was just exhausted. That had happened before, and he’d been fine after a few hours of sleep, maybe…

 

No. The world seems to have something against him, and a scalding pain erupts beneath his skin. Sehun manages to stay standing for a moment, then topples to his knees. His hands curl into fists on the cool ground, shaking with effort, trying desperately  _ not _ to scream while the pain built. It was gradually increasing, burning and prodding at every atom, every cell, every  _ piece _ of his being. He makes a weak attempt at unplugging his microphone, but just winds up sprawled on the ground, biting his tongue in an attempt to muffle any noises. Even like this, he can hear the whimper that slips through his teeth echo through the concert center, and bites down on his lower lip. Tongue wasn’t doing enough, and clearly, the staff weren’t about to…

 

_ Oh, fuck! _

 

Another wave of pain crashes into him, dousing his flesh in more and more unforgiving pain. Faintly, Sehun can feel a weak spike of pain in his lip and taste blood, but  _ he doesn’t have another choice _ .

 

The blood seems to be what gets the staff to unfreeze, though, and the girl who had grabbed his water bottle drops it; she rushes at him and practically tears the mic off of his face. Her hands are trembling as she pulls the microphone pack out of his waistband, tossing it aside so harshly it makes a sharp  _ crack! _ when it collides with the ground. 

 

He’d known the pain was worse the further away from his soulmate he was, but...this. Was  _ this _ normal? Was he supposed to feel spread out, violently awake while his nerves screamed? Baekhyun had almost seemed drugged when he’d collapsed, but Sehun was hyper aware and yet sluggish. His thoughts were clear, yet somehow he’d managed to become so disoriented he’d  _ missed _ the end of the concert entirely, unable to hear past the staff’s frantic words. Even those had become warped, he noted, as he heard the unmistakable noise of yet another mic pack hitting the ground and a familiar voice snapping at one of the loudest staff members. 

 

The voice is moving, and he’s being manhandled into a sitting position, Junmyeon’s panicked expression coming into his blurry line of sight. His leader’s hands are on his cheekbones, eyes scanning his face, cringing away from his lip. He’s saying something, but the ever-increasing pain is roaring in Sehun’s ears and he just shakes his head. His tongue feels thick, heavy in his mouth as he pulls his teeth out of his lip and tries to say something,  _ anything _ in reply. Instead, he just moves his mouth for a moment before his vision flashes and the pain overcomes him one last time.

  
  


Passing out is a relief.

 

-

 

Waking up is not. The pain hasn’t left him yet, and Sehun’s hands fist into the blankets beneath him--- is he in a  _ bed _ ? A quick glance around the room confirms that they’ve brought him back to the hotel, complete with Jumyeon and Baekhyun wearily watching him from one of the other beds. Sehun groans, managing to gather enough strength to properly sit up, dropping his head into his hands. He feels like complete and utter  _ hell _ . His lip is swollen, certainly, if the throbbing pain there proves anything, and his entire body feels as though someone had thrown him down a flight of stairs. His wrist, however, still hasn’t given up on torturing him, and it screeches in protest at every movement. 

 

The bed dips beside him, and Baekhyun’s hand is on his back, gently rubbing soothing circles there while he says,

 

“I know, it’s shit, but I think it should be over…,”

 

“Hyung, it’s  _ not _ .” Sehun snaps, running his hands through his hair and dragging his nails across his scalp, trying to feel  _ anything _ but the nagging pain in his wrist.

 

“Knock it off,” Junmyeon says, appearing in front of Sehun once again, a wet washcloth in one hand. He tips Sehun’s face upwards, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he wipes blood from the younger man’s lips as gently as possible, continuing, “Don’t hurt yourself to avoid pain, that won’t help anything.”

 

Sehun has to bite back a rude comment, nerves so fried that he just wants to growl,  _ “How would you know?” _ Which, really, wouldn’t help anything, especially given how well Junmyeon’s choice to remove his compass had gone over with Baekhyun, the only other member to have found his soulmate. It was an argument he definitely didn’t want to start again. It had lasted the better part of two weeks and had been fought mostly in glares after the younger man’s horrified screech of,

_ “Junmyeon, what the hell did you do?” _

 

Sehun  _ really _ didn’t want to start that argument again.

 

He pulls back at the sound of the door slamming open, a very tired Kyungsoo shoving his way into the room, holding the phone in his hand like it’s a bomb. He shoves the phone into Junmyeon’s free hand before throwing his arms into the air and announcing, 

 

“Minseok was the one who found it.”

 

Junmyeon tosses a confused gaze at Kyungsoo before turning his attention to the phone, expression slowly evolving into something like  _ pity _ .

 

“What?,” Sehun demands, pain beginning to grow once again, wanting to know before he inevitably passed out again, “What the  _ fuck _ is going on?”

  
Junmyeon sighs and hands the phone back to Kyungsoo, crossing his arms before saying gently, “Luhan collapsed at movie premier last night.”


	2. Azimuth

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

_Damnit, Luhan, answer your phone._

　

Baekhyun paced around the small space, kicking experimentally at the grey stall door. He'd made up an excuse, slipping out of the dorm with smiles and apologies, pretending they'd run out of Brufen. It would take Junmyeon a solid half hour, if he was lucky, to discover that he'd actually stashed the remaining 4 pills in his dresser, so if Luhan didn't pick up _now_ , he'd have no choice but to hang up and try later. There was a slight chance that he could manage to get away with staying longer to try and call again--- _if_ and only if he actually bought Brufen. Sehun had practically been surviving on the painkillers, even though they barely did anything. They kept some of the pain at bay, and that was enough.

　

There's a click in his ear, and Baekhyun's heart soars,

　

"Luhan, you need to---"

　

"Baekhyun?"

　

His heart drops.

　

That's not Luhan. That voice is too deep, too rough. It...the world spins for a couple seconds before Baekhyun steadies himself against one of the cold walls, biting into his cheeks while he tries his best to not throw his phone. Well, Minseok's phone. If he broke the damn phone, either way, Junmyeon could buy him a new one--- it was his soulmate's fault, after all.

　

"Yifan, what the _fuck_. This isn't your phone," He growls, hands clenching into fists as his sides his best to push images of Suho's burnt wrist out of his mind.

　

"You're calling from Minseok's," Yifan deadpans, voice sounding worn as he shoots back, "What do you want?"

　

"Shut up," Baekhyun throws back, "Where's Luhan? I need to talk to him."

　

"He's rolling on his bed in pain, thanks," Yifan snaps, "Call back later. I'm hanging up now."

　

"No, don't---,"

　

 _Click_.

　

Baekhyun pulls the phone away from his face, eyes wide and anger shooting through his veins. The bastard.

　

He calls back, leg shaking impatiently until Yifan answers again, this time with an even more exasperated,

　

" _What,_ Baekhyun?"

 

"Don't hang up on me this time," Baekhyun warns, "And I need you to bring Luhan back hom--- back to the dorm."

　

Yifan sighs, "I need more explanation than that to buy two plane tickets and drag him, especially because he looks like a wreck, back to South Korea. The press would have a field day."

　

"A field day?," Baekhyun scoffs, "They won't, not while they're preoccupied with ou--- EXO's latest concert. I don't know how much you've seen, but Sehun barely made it offstage before his compass moved. But hey, 'cause he ran off, he didn't have the time to get his headset off, so we could all---,"

　

His voice breaks.

　

"We could all hear him whimpering. A staff member pulled it off of him after a few moments, but...I don't know," Baekhyun runs a hand through his hair, flicking his wrist when a few stands fall out, "We finished up the concert and booked it offstage, and we thought he'd passed out. Of course not. No, he was laying there surrounded by the staff, and Junmeyon _freaked_. He got him into a sitting position, and I saw...that was when I...he bit into his lip to stop himself from screaming. He _pulled his teeth out of his lip_ to try and talk. He couldn't get any words out, though, before he passed out. Someone backstage had a phone."

 

Yifan makes a quiet sympathetic noise. Baekhyun pretends to not hear it,

 

"So now there's a picture of Junmyeon crying and Sehun collapsed and bloody in his lap. He's waking up, crying, and passing out ever since--- and his compass is pointing west."

　

" _Fuck!,_ " came the most eloquent reply to that disocvery anyone had had thus far, "Fuck! Are you sure...?"

　

"Yifan, Luhan collapsed too," Baekhyun says tiredly, "Who else could it be? It would make sense."

　

"It would," Yifan admits, and then the phone sounds muffled as he yells something before picking the phone back up, "I’ll get him on a plane. Have you talked to Junmyeon?"

　

"No."

　

" _Fuck._ "

　

-

　

"Do I _have_ to explain _why_ you made the _biggest mistake of your life_?," Junmyeon screams, red spots high on his cheekbones, nostrils flaring, "Or are you just that--- that _stupid_?"

　

"I’m sorry, I’m _stupid_ for calling for help?," Baekhyun snaps, "Or do you just want Sehun to stay like this for--- hell, I don’t even know how long it lasts."

　

" _Exactly_. It could end any moment now," Junmyeon’s eyes are flashing, "And you decided it was appropriate to call Luhan, even though Sehun, not to mention everyone else," He gestures wildly at the six men clustered into the corner of the living room, watching with wide eyes, " _Clearly_ does not want to see him."

　

Before Baekhyun can respond, Kyungsoo jumps to his feet and snaps,

　

"No, Junmyeon, don’t bring us into this. This is about Sehun, and you’re wrong. Baekhyun did the right thing, alright? Lay off. _Y_ ou’re _pissed because you’re scared of seeing Yifan again_."

　

The color drains out of Junmyeon’s face, and he very visibly gulps before storming out of the room. For a brief moment, the tension bleeds from the common room. Baekhyun shoots a small, grateful smile at Kyungsoo, then Junmyeon rushes past the shorter man and shoves his wallet into Yixing’s hands.

　

"Buy yourself and these five a hotel room for the next couple days," He says, voice frail and cracking, "Please."

_Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! You need to wait one more chapter for Hunhan ^-^  
> If you're curious, Brufen is the brand name for Ibuprofen in South Korea. As always, let me know what you think in a comment and give a kudo if you enjoyed!


	3. Geoid

Baekhyun opens the door and does his best not to look too shocked.

　

Both Luhan and Yifan look like _hell_. As a matter of fact, Luhan actually looks _better_ than Yifan. His eyes are red puffy, twin bags resting beneath both of them, but they’re altert. His hair had been shoved under a hat, and even in rumpled clothes he still managed to look half-decent. Yifan, on the other hand...he was still crying. His clothes were pressed, but the sleeves had been pushes up, presumably hastiy, if the missing buttons had anything to do with it. He was panting, very slightly, and Luhan had placed one small hand on his chest, steadying him.

　

"Are you...," Baekhyun starts, raising an eyebrow, but Yifan cuts him off by shakily raising his arm. The skin is red and cracked and the compass needle swings north, past Baekhyun and towards the sitting figure of Junmyeon. He’d chosen to stay back, huddled on the couch in his pyjamas, plaid pants and... _shit._

　

Junmyeon’s in short sleeves.

　

"Damn. Uh, I’ve got to...go," He says shakily, "My...my soulmate has the day off and...yeah..."

　

He slips out, shoving past Luhan and running into the hallway. BTS’s dorm is too far away for him to walk, so he settles on grabbing his phone and calling for help.

　

"Taehyung," He says, voice shaking as tears begin to prick his eyes, "I need you to come get me."

　

-

　

Luhan is the first to step forward on trembling legs, glancing around the dorm and fighting the urge to run. It’s been years, and he’d never expected to be here again, especially not under these circumstances. Junmyeon is sitting on the sofa, watching silently with eyes vulnerable in a way he hadn’t seen before. Then again, from what Yifan had said on the plane (once he’d stopped crying and biting down his cries of pain, that was) they were soulmates. If Junmyeon’s compass had moved as well, he would be in pain as well, but...his eyes weren’t red. He looked the same as always, save for the short sleeves. He never used to wear short sleeves.

　

His eyes fall on his ex-leader’s exposed wrists and Luhan sucks in a sharp breath.

　

Junmyeon’s wrist is covered in pale pink scar tissue, the burn pattern characteristic of...of the compass removal procedure.

　

 _Goddamn_.

　

"I’m going to find Sehun," He mumbles to Yifan, then turns and stalks away. He doesn’t want to be there once Yifan catches sight of the scar.

　

-

　

Junmyeon’s compass is _missing_.

　

"What did you _do_?," Yifan whispers, voice trembling as he approaches the couch, "You..."

　

"I had to," Junmyeon says flatly, standing and clasping his hands behind his back.

　

"You _had to_?," He echoes, the pain is his wrist dissolving once he grabs Junmyeon’s wrist and pulling it towards him. He’d seen the compass once, when it was still there. It had been the same as everyone’s, black lines streaking across tan skin, needle frozen at north. Now, all that was gone, replaced by streaky pink scar tissue, ever so slightly irritated.

"You were gone," Junmyeon glares at him as he pulls his arm back, "You picked up and _left_ , you didn’t have to deal with the fallout, _Kris_."

　

"I’ve told you before," Yifan’s voice creeps up an octave as he snaps, "I _had_ to, Junmyeon! You never, _never_ , were treated the way _anyone_ in EXO-M were. You _never_ dealt with any of what we did. I _had_ to leave, I had to---"

　

"You could have told us!," Junmyeon shouts, tears springing to his eyes, "You could have told _me!_ "

　

-

　

"Sehun?," Luhan says softly, rapping on the door with his knuckles for a second before pushing the door open. The room is stuffy, overheating, but the maknae is still curled up in several blankets at the center of the bed, looking down at his palms miserably.

　

"Sehun?," He asks again, and the younger’s head snaps up, eyes frantically widening.

　

"Leave," The blonde whispers, raw voice dragging through swollen lips, "Get out."

　

"I’m sorry," Luhan says, tears pricking at his eyes as he puts his hands up, shoulder-level, "Look, Sehunnie, I’m--"

　

" _Don’t."_

　

"Sehun, my compass...," He moves forward, chest giving a hollow pang of pain when Sehun pushes himself backwards, pressing agaisnt the headbord, "I think we’re..."

　

"Soulmates. I know," Sehun says dryly, "I don’t care. Leave."

　

"I flew here from _China_ \--"

　

"That’s only an hour and a half--"

　

"I don’t care. We’re talking about this."

　

-

　

　

"I’m _sorry_ ," Yifan says desperately, "I bolted, and it was wrong, but I was scared and I’m _sorry_."

　

"I don’t _care_!," Junmyeon snarls, "I don’t _fucking_ care, _Kris_ , I don’t care, you still picked up and _left_ out of nowhere. You were gone."

His voice shakes violently at the end, and Junmyeon looks away as soon as he feels tears streaking down his cheeks. _Damnit. Not now._

　

"I’m sorry," Yifan says once more, stepping forward and hesitantly wrapping his arms around the shorter man, "Junmyeon..."

　

"You were _gone_ ," Junmyeon repeats, bringing one hand up to weakly hit Yifan’s chest before resting his head there, tears soaking into the fabric, "And it’s _awful_ because you’re right, I can’t _blame_ you, I just...I wish you’d _said_ something."

"I know, I know," Yifan mumbles, watching as Junmyeon looks up at him, teasing his lip between teeth for a moment, "I’m..."

　

Junmyeon leans forward, stealing the "sorry" from Yifan’s lips, replacing it with his instead.

　

-

"Have you gotten taller?," Luhan asks uneasily, crossing his legs as he sits down on the bed, anxiously eyeing the maknae.

　

"I’m sitting down," Sehun deadpans, "And I haven’t."

　

"I’m trying to break the ice, okay?," He laughs nervously, "Besides, I have...I have missed you."

　

"You’re doing a shit job of it," Sehun mumbles, looking away and swiping his tongue over his injured lip, "And I’ve...I’ve missed you as well. I’m still...did you _have_ to leave?"

　

"I’m sorry," Luhan says, his clipped voice seggusting that he’s not in the least bit sorry, "It was for the better."

　

Sehun snorts.

　

"It _was_. I have my own career now, I’m not being pushed to the side anymore, and I’m certainly not being pressed to my breaking point on the daily," Luhan argues, Sehun realitating in kind,

　

"You stopped calling. You tossed us to the side--- you tossed _me_ to the side!"

　

"I was _busy_ , and it hurt to...to think about---"

　

"What, the fact that you left?"

　

"Yes!," Luhan finally snaps, "Yes, because I _care_ about you!"

　

Sehun’s eyes widen, ever so slightly.

　

"I care about you," Luhan repeats, voice trailing off at the end like an afterthought. He shifts his position on the bed, edging closer to Sehun. He studies the other man’s lips for a moment before closing the distance, knowing that come morning, their lives will be changed forever. Both of their collapses had been public, and the flight to South Korea hadn’t been subtle. EXO-Ls would know, and in turn, so would the media. The struggle with SM would begin again, it would be awful but so _worth it_ if he could still have this, if he could relive this a thousand times; the sweet feeling of Sehun’s lips curling into a smile against his own.

　

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da! All done! Let me know what you thought :3

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Leave me a comment or kudos and let me know; as always thank you for reading!! I'll try and have the second chapter (aka the fluff) up either today or tomorrow.
> 
> For those of you who have read the rest of Compass Rose--- yes, Sehun has a different reaction to his compass moving than anyone else has had so far. I wanted to make the international soulmates have different reactions than those that are, say, a couple feet away from each other (Yoongi and Jimin). There is another person who has had an international reaction like this, and he'll be coming in during the second chapter, which will also help resolve the events of True North, so stay tuned!


End file.
